For the first time I believe I have caught Dickens failing to use the best word.
"They were a goodly company, and the Innkeepers all but worshipped
them. Wherever they went, their importance preceded them in the
person of the courier riding before, to see that the rooms of state
were ready. He was the herald of the family procession."

The word should have been "harbinger", which was the designation of a servant sent ahead of travelling nobles to
ensure their being properly received where they wished to stop.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000.

harbinger

SYLLABICATION: har·bin·ger
PRONUNCIATION: härbn-jr
NOUN: One that indicates or foreshadows what is to come; a forerunner.
TRANSITIVE VERB: Inflected forms: har·bin·gered, har·bin·ger·ing, har·bin·gers
To signal the approach of; presage.
ETYMOLOGY: Middle English herbengar, person sent ahead to arrange lodgings, from Old French herbergeor, from herbergier, to provide lodging for, from herberge, lodging, of Germanic origin. See koro- in Appendix I.

Oh, Dickens was fine, wwh. Here's several definitions from MW, including one that indicates herald and harbinger may be used synonymously:

"2 a : an official crier or messenger having duties similar in one or more respects to those of the herald of medieval and modern Europe <Mercury was the gods' herald> b : one (as a soldier) who signals with a trumpet <more chieftains came, with heralds who blew on trumpets that were twelve feet long -- Hector Bolitho> c : AVANT-COURIER
3 a : one that precedes or foreshadows : HARBINGER, FORERUNNER <flights of ravens ... are the sure heralds of the approach of the deer -- Farley Mowat> <revolutions ... were the heralds of social changes -- R.W.Livingstone> b (1) : one that conveys news or proclaims : ANNOUNCER <hark the herald angels sing -- George Whitefield> <it was the lark, the herald of the morn -- Shakespeare> (2) : one that supports or advocates : SPOKESMAN <conspicuous herald of this enfranchising movement -- C.A.Dinsmore>"

Dear WW: bad word MW. The original of harbinger was just a servant to reserve rooms for his master. Just because others made error doen't warrant copying them, once you know
the difference.

Oh, come on, wwh! You cannot fight the movement of language, error-ridden though it may be! Otherwise we'd still be caught up in our grunts and shrieks!


Hark! The harbinger angels sing!

Yecch!

Errors need not be repeated.